#looking back it's actually kind of a miracle that fantasy life got any dlc at all given how unpopular it is

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Btw I really hope that the new Fantasy Life will have DLC at some point cause the Origin Island DLC in the original and all the new content it brought to it was so fucking good. More of that please! ^w^

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Graceless Heart Fic (Spoiler) Notes

These are notes for my 80K Fire Emblem fic “Graceless Heart.” These notes are full of SPOILERS! Please read the fic first! Beware at your own risk!

The notes will be under a Read More. Mobile users, if it doesn’t work for you, I’m so sorry.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS BELOW:

GENERAL NOTES:

Sumeragi was at work while Corrin was saying goodbye to the Hoshido family. He already said goodbye to Corrin that morning. That’s why he doesn’t appear here.

Xander texting Inigo back a heart emoji: I don’t see Xander as an emoji person, but I think Inigo is definitely the type to use a lot of hearts and whatnot when texting. Xander would not do that on his own, but if you look at his phone, you’ll see his most used (and only) emojis are the heart ones that Inigo sends him. Because Xander is willing to mimic how Inigo shows his affection for the sake of mutual reciprocation. Plus he got made fun of for being so stiff and formal when he writes.

Dock Fight with the Trio: Owain is genuinely embarrassed and Inigo really is going to tease him with those memes, but they’re all friends. This is not a serious fight. Severa and Inigo are not being deliberate assholes here. They’re all having fun.

The book Leo is reading when Owain asks is The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker.

Everyone’s swimsuits are based on what they wear in FE Heroes as summer units or their outfits in the Beach Brawl DLC, minus Corrin, who wears a swim t-shirt on top of whatever bathing suit you imagine for them.

In a real situation where someone is drowning, you should probably not grab them the way Corrin grabs Inigo. A drowning person is very likely to harm or hinder their rescuer due to panic. I just wrote that scene a little less realistically in the fic because I didn’t want to deal with that and, like I say in the notes, I’m functioning on action movie logic. Action movies aren’t realistic.

When Corrin tells Inigo that they’ll keep his almost drowning a secret so long as he lets them know if he has health problems later and Elise tells Inigo to let them know if he has bad dreams, what Elise is actually saying is “Hey, if you start to get PTSD over this, let us know so we can help you.” But she doesn’t want to be so blunt, making this be the type of thing Inigo keeps to himself and suffers through alone, so she says “bad dreams” instead to phrase it with less stigma.

You’ll notice after Inigo’s near drowning that I mention how exhausted he feels when he’s having a freakout on the floor of his cabin, how tired he is the next morning before, during, and after the shopping trip, how he leans heavily on stuff and people, etc. His fatigue can be explained by stress and other normal things. However, it is also a result of the lake water being genuinely bad for people! Most people who go to the lake naturally get this vibe and don’t swim too far out into it/tend to visit the lake in groups or pairs so the chances of drowning decrease. (I almost wrote some of this into Anankos’s dialogue but it felt wonky and didn’t fit.). Corrin also feels this same exhaustion in subsequent scenes, although it’s emphasized less.

Likewise, when Owain and Corrin are stranded in the middle of the water, they also grow quite exhausted rather quickly because (a) the closer to the center of the lake, the more powerful the Bad Vibes that drain your energy and (b) there’s so much rain and water everywhere that as they swallow, they’re also growing more and more tired. Also, fear takes a lot out of a person in general.

Similarly, when Corrin’s foot gets grabbed on the docks, I mention a few times that their legs feel heavy, etc. This is all related to Evil Lake Energy. Severa’s almost drowning is the same deal as Inigo. Everyone who gets in the water (especially if they swallow any) experience this same lack of energy. It’s worse if you actually swallow some water right out there in the middle of the lake and you’re just more susceptible to that kind of bad magic like Anankos unfortunately was. Corrin has been through the wringer at the end of this fic because of constant exposure. They’re on nothing but bedrest for a good number of days after the end of this fic. Lots and lots of sleep for them. Owain is only mildly better in that he doesn’t have to be admitted to the hospital but does need A Lot of sleep. Rest assured that they do eventually recover though.

Elise “lying to Xander and Camilla about stuff all the time” — A reference to in-game canon about how Elise regularly ditches her retainers and goes around to the poorer parts of the city where she is explicitly forbidden to go. She’s surprisingly sneaky and has no problems not telling her siblings about this.

I paraphrased some dialogue from in-game between Leo, Niles and Owain when the latter are trying to convince Leo to swim because it mimicked a Beach Brawl DLC scene.

“Pot, kettle” = a reference to Niles canonically reminiscing about the past in his and Leo’s support. He likely does that in this AU on occasion as well.

Camilla’s SUV has 3 rows of seats because she loves the extra room for bags/extra passenger space.

Some of Camilla and Xander’s interactions and some of Xander’s narration referencing her is also a direct reference to their Supports in Fates also. In this fic, Camilla’s jab at being surprised Xander would ever notice how she felt about Severa because he’s always so busy is more a jab to get him to back off than a pride thing like in canon, but the pride is probably still there too.

Severa lives! She lived because I wanted her too (and because I cannot stand any character death in fics that isn’t like “The Villain Died Forever Ago And Maybe There’s Danger But Everyone Else Is Fine”), but it is a sort of miracle. Camilla did not do proper drowning rescue procedure here. Nobody did. I’m sure you picked up on that from the panic and flashbacks and whatnot. Everyone did their best at handling that rescue, but it wasn’t great. There is too much Panic™ to remain calm, although in real life that’s absolutely what you should try to do in an emergency. Camilla’s one (1) exchange of air is not usually going to save the life of somebody who is really in danger. The only reason it worked is because (a) Severa wasn’t really dead, although she sure looked like it and (b) this is fantasy fiction. Please call emergency services in a situation like this irl or immediately drive to the nearest hospital if there is no cell service and it’s safe to do so.

Xander’s last conversation with Inigo in this fic directly stem from his fear of (a) not being in control and (b) not being strong enough to protect those he cares about.

Originally Elise was going to be the one who figured out Anankos drowned, but somehow while writing it just didn’t work that way, mostly because she ended up stuck by the cars. Whoops. You’re the real hero in my heart, Elise.

 CHARACTER NOTES:

Owain’s insecurities stem from his Felicia and Severa supports where Owain reacts very negatively to being called weird. Also from the hc that growing up in modern AU with public school would probably emphasize that insecurity too, since kids can be real bullies. I very much picture him as the “Weird Kid” in class who was in his own little world and other kids whispered about him for it. Which is unfair, because he’s really just having fun :( By middle school/high school, he’s likely learned to tone this down a little, but only after a series of Bad Memories that make him develop a fear that everyone is just barely tolerating him or is making fun of him behind his back. It’s an infrequent insecurity because Owain is pretty good at not really caring what others think, but it’s one that exists all the same. He’s known Niles and Leo for a year or maybe two at this point, but when Leo admits (like in canon) to hating Owain when they first met, it triggers those insecurities again and sets back the progress the three of them had made in working up to a relationship together.

Corrin has a peacemaker type personality in Fates and always wants to believe the best in everyone to the point where they only seem to learn their lesson of “trust but have a backup plan” near the end of the Revelations route. I think I was mostly true to that character of Corrin in my other horror fic Dark Things Grew. And I think I was mostly true to that version of canon here until the part where Corrin and Owain are stuck in the middle of the lake together. (If you think Corrin was 100% what you expected all the way through, yay! But if not: ) Perhaps Corrin is a little more freaked out or snappier than some of you might have expected. However, I am taking some liberties with the fact this is a modern world AU here. In Fates, magic is real. Dragons are real. Ogre monsters that you can summon out of thin air to do your fighting for you (i.e. Faceless) are real. Some things are less likely than others, but there’s a whole realm of magical possibility that doesn’t exist in our reality. So when you find out that the lake your mom used to visit all the time is possessed (huh????) by a demon (?????) whose voice you are hearing in your head (???????) and also who is not a demon but actually your ghost dad (????????) who is trying to kill you and all your friends you guess (????????) but you’re not really sure what’s going on still except for the fact that oh, Ariana, we’re really in it now, aaaahhhhhhhHHHHH—

Well, you, too, would probably be a little upset. Corrin is the same at their core. They’re just allowed to go “Yo, what the heck” now. (I almost had Corrin say the F word in just their narration once and I couldn’t do it :/) They go through a lot of feelings in the climax of this fic, actually, and I hope they felt at least somewhat reasonable reactions to you, the reader, since the situation Corrin finds themselves in is so unprecedented, stressful, and wack.

Also, this is true for all characters! They’ve been mildly adapted into modern counterparts. This means some experiences that shaped them in Awakening/Fates didn’t happen here or were adapted into modern equivalents. (For example, Inigo is a little less able to run face first into battle than in Awakening/Fates bc he didn’t experience the terror and necessity of having to fight the Risen as a young kid. He still grew up shy and is a (self-admitted in Supports) crybaby who tries to hide those facets of himself, however. Hence why he feels the need to put on a brave face after Bad Things Happen. He still feels like he needs to be a pillar of support for people, although he’s a less steady than his more hardened counterpart. Similar extractions can be applied to other characters throughout this fic.

I often write Severa/Camilla as a very doting, established relationship. A lot of the time the conflict in my stories comes from some outside factor—a dragon, a war, magic, etc. I don’t write a lot of interpersonal conflict, and it’s something I thought I should try my hand at least once. Camilla and Severa’s dynamic here specifically draws from Camilla’s habit of keeping her true feelings close to her chest in her supports. In canon with Selena, she very obviously gives noncommittal answers to Selena’s demands that Camilla praise her for being the best. With Xander, Camilla lies by omission—when he guesses her favorite food wrong, she pretends he’s right for the sake of (presumably) not embarrassing him and proving he doesn’t actually know his siblings better than she does. I’m sure there are other incidents where Camilla hides her true feelings too. I’ve always wondered about these events. Emotionally, Camilla is a very interesting character to me. She has a lot of thoughts and feelings, but she seems to keep a lot of them to herself. I wish that was explored more in-game.

Here, I combined Camilla’s natural tendency to keep her true feelings to herself with her canonical childhood loneliness. She canonically felt bereft of maternal love as a child, and that’s why she tries to shower so much on Corrin. In this fic, Camilla is afraid of opening herself up to love from others. She can dole it out because she doesn’t want to deprive anyone (specifically Corrin, who was isolated a lot via Garon) of that same love, but in turn she never wants to actually be vulnerable with anyone. Family gets special privileges, but even her siblings don’t get to see everything. She has romantic feelings for Severa, but she’s afraid of opening herself up to potential hurt and having that love thrown back in her face later. So Camilla does herself the favor of not allowing herself to be vulnerable in the first place. There’s some part of her that really does want to openly love and be loved by Severa, however. So that’s the yo-yo affect Severa is dealing with throughout this fic.

Camilla knows, factually, that Severa likes her too. But she also has this defense mechanism she’s used her whole life. She wants the best of both worlds; she wants to teeter on the edge of romance/intimacy she and Severa both crave while still keeping Severa at arm’s length so she never actually has to face the danger of being potentially vulnerable with Severa and therefore hurt. Which, you know. Is shitty. (Sometimes the people you love can do shitty things. Sometimes you can do shitty things. I think Camilla’s character is more complex, realistic, and interesting here because of it. I hope you think the same.)

And Camilla keeps it up until she realizes losing Severa is still a very real possibility whether or not she admits her feelings. It’s too late to pretend otherwise. She’s already vulnerable to that hurt she wanted to avoid. The shock of that revelation, the fear of losing Severa, and also McFreaking Water Ghost is enough to get her to admit her feelings and change her behavior. It’s not all peaches and cherries from here on out for them, but it’s a start. They’re taking it slow.

Camilla isn’t a villain here, which I say because I worry some people may think I wrote her to be villainous. Sometimes the people you love have baggage. Severa has it too. So does everyone else in this fic and in your actual real life. That’s natural. Sometimes we do shit things because of that baggage. It happens. Does that mean you get an excuse for your actions? Absolutely not. Apologize. Do better. Camilla is trying. They’ll go from here.

I was trying for a lot more nuanced, complex approach to these two this time around rather than the zero interpersonal problems approach. It was new for me too. I hope it payed off.

Anyway, love wins.

A VERY BAD OUTLINE OF THE CABINS THAT I MADE IN PAINT 3D AND A FLOOR PLAN I STOLE FROM GOOGLE IMAGES 2 YEARS AGO:

 I am so sorry for the quality of this, lmao

[rinabrunoblog]

Switch Arcade February Summary

With Valentine’s Day behind us and February almost gone, the Spring air is filled with announcements and big reveals in the gaming world for the coming period. Nintendo Direct packed up plenty of those in the first half of this month, and 2019 is already looking like it’s going to be the ‘Year of the Nintendo Switch’. However, this roundup did not just bring announcements about the awaited games currently in development but gave us a glimpse at Nintendo’s figures and much more.

Nintendo Direct News

The latest Direct was eagerly awaited and people seem to have reacted well to it, overall. There were a few big reveals, like Super Mario Maker 2, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Dragon Quest XI, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Daemon X Machina, DLC, and the long-awaited Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. New announcements included BoxBoy! + BoxGirl!, Assassin’s Creed 3 Remastered, Astral Chain, Oninaki, Rune Factory 5, Sacrifice, Hellblade: Senua’s, and the fan favorite Tetris 99. We’ve also got update overviews for Captain Toad, Starlink: Battle For Atlas, and the recently released Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Here is the entire video from the Nintendo’s YouTube channel:

As soon as the announcement was over, they dropped a few of the fan favorites into the online shop, like the Final Fantasy IX and Daemon X Machina: Prototype Missions, while Final Fantasy VII is left for the late March. The Nintendo Switch Online Tetris 99 battle royale mash delighted the fans, while there are some good titles coming soon, it seems.

Nintendo Switch Alex Kidd

The Sega Ages Alex Kidd in Miracle World, an old school classic, was announced earlier in February. It was a pretty popular platformer back in the ‘90s and it is now coming back as a pretty big thing apparently. The release date is not pinpointed exactly but if we follow the Nintendo’s release schedule they’ve adopted so far, which is one game per month, and if we take into account that it’s been put off for quite a while now, it should come in a month or two. Additionally, the fans should expect a worldwide release a month from its Japan release and the game will be immediately available for at least all the major regions right from the start. It will feature all the original music tracks restored, a rewind capability, and a complete version with all the features available if you choose so.

Touhou Sky Arena – Matsuri-Climax

The very essence of everything Japan’s been telling us from the ‘80s until now, this totally weird game Touhou Sky Arena – Matsuri-Climax switch, whatever that means, takes place in the Touhou world. But, the most intricate part if that the battles take place mid-air. Everything splashes and flashes as this title are coming to Switch at $29.99.

Tokyo School Life

As far as the visuals go, this may be the best, most-polished game of the anime-styled wave coming to Switch. Tokyo School Life follows 3 girls in high school, in Tokyo no less, as they adapt to the stereotypical school environment. Each of the girls all has emphasized personality traits of their own. One is athletic and open, one is shy but kind, and the third one is warm-hearted. The game obviously has the social aspect focused above any action. In fact, finding your way in a social environment is the action in Tokyo School Life, and it will cost $14.99.

Modern Combat Blackout

The Modern Combat Switch is a home run for Gameloft, as there is no game of its kind on Switch as of yet. No real-time present time shooter other than this one, so this game is a highlight of 2019 in terms of an FPS shooter like Call of Duty. Available on iOS, Android, and PC, Modern Combat Blackout switch is coming with high hopes and it will only cost $19.99.

Cinders

Nintendo is trying to go in every possible direction genre-wise, one step at the time, and this adventure game with a non-linear storyline is what’s in store for games who love this kind of pace. It is a story driven choice-based game which is best described as an adaptation of Cinderella. It promises to be highly interesting if the early reviews are to be trusted. Cinders switch will naturally be playable multiple times because of the non-linear gameplay style, which is a brilliant way to make additional content available. Also, the subversion of this children’s book is an excellent way to add some familiarity to the game’s world. It will be available at $19.99.

Final Fantasy IX

The remastered Final Fantasy 9 switch will cost only $20.99, which is great news for the fans of the franchise. The game bears its signature art style, the gameplay may be a little slower than what audiences are used to now, but it is a classic so worth the cost no doubt. From PlayStation to Switch, Final Fantasy IX is here.

Tetris 99

How do you manage to play Tetris in a battle royale environment? Well, nobody would have known the answer as this Tetris 99 Switch addition came as a big surprise to many. It is an MMO battle royale designed by Arika and nurtured by Nintendo of course. It will require a Nintendo Switch Online account and it will feature you, the player, and 99 other players in a single Tetris arena matching and competing against one another where only one can be the victor. Each player will have its own turn as we all attack each other, with that old Tetris song playing in the background. The best part- it is free if you are Subscribed to Nintendo Online!

Daemon X Machina: Prototype Missions

So far, Daemon X Machina has mixed reviews on the web, as people seem to have expected something different than the game actually offers. While most people had hoped for the well-established mecha tactical fight game, this Daemon X Machina switch action-packed shooter offers a 3rd person view thrill. The game will offer cool visual features, an easy to pick up gameplay mechanic, and the mecha feel to it all. Also, it comes free of charge, so there’s no shame in trying it out!

Other announcements and releases with the price:

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Strikey Sisters $9.99

Pet Care $1.49

OlliOlli: Switch Stance $14.99

Nekopara Vol. 2 $14.99

LOVE $2.99

Hexa Maze $19.99

Guess the Word $1.89

Astrology and Horoscopes Premium $8.99

Alvastia Chronicles $12.99

Nice Slice $1.99

Degrees of Separation $14.99

Switch Arcade February Summary syndicated from https://lucystrickland.wordpress.com/